Pikasso announces the acquisition of Greenberry, the Moroccan leader in malls advertising

26 November 2019

Pikasso announces today the acquisition of 95% of Greenberry shares, the Moroccan leader in malls and retail advertising.

Founded in 2009, Greenberry has the exclusive concession of the 97 accesses to Carrefour, Carrefour Market and Atacadao of Label'Vie, the malls of Aradei: Label'Gallery in Rabat, Meknès, El Jadida, and in Safi, Socco Alto in Tangier, Almazar in Marrakech, Borj Fez in Fes, as well as AnfaPlace in Casablanca (Grit Group), Ryad Square in Rabat (FC2B), Tangier City Mall (Interavente) and Carré Eden in Marrakech (CMG).

The inventory is composed of 169 digital screens, totems, video walls and LEDs, as well as 300 classic faces including backlits, 2m2 scrollers and 12m2.

Greenberry has built a great reputation in the Moroccan market through the introduction of advertising in malls and retail.

The existing team will be reinforced with executives and technicians. In order to welcome its extended new team, the company moved on the 1st of September to new premises located at: 193 Boulevard de la Resistance in Casablanca.

Following this acquisition, Pikasso becomes the only Out of Home Advertising operator to extensively cover the 3 markets of North Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and to be able to respond with homogeneous outdoor products to the requests of advertisers, along with regional and international media agencies.

The advertising market in Morocco is one of the largest in Africa and the MENA region, of which it holds the 3rd position. It is also an advertising hub, home to headquarters of media agencies and regional marketing departments of multinationals.

Morocco has a population of 35.5 million. The capital Rabat has 1.7 M inhabitants while Casablanca has 3.2 M. The GDP growth was 3.2% in 2018.

In Jeune Afrique July 21, 2019 issue has extensively reviewed the "Twenty Years That Have Changed Everything" since the accession to the throne in 1999 of His Majesty King Mohammed VI: "From north to south, the big cities of the Kingdom have all benefited from urban development programs that have significantly modernized them. You can now travel by electric bus in Marrakech or by tram in Rabat. A high-speed train connects Casablanca to Tangier in 2h10 and the geostrategic positioning in the Strait of Gibraltar is being strengthened with the world-class Tanger Med port and logistics complex. Regional Development Plans (RDPs) have also been put in place. ""As for the Industrial Acceleration Plan (IAP) it should allow Morocco to join the much closed circle of emerging countries by 2020. 400,000 vehicles are assembled each year. The country's exports reached 25 billion euros in 2018. ""The shares of Renewable Energy (RE) in the Moroccan electricity park will reach 52% in 2030 (35% today).""Casablanca Finance City (CFC) has already become the continent's leading financial center, according to the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI), with nearly 200 economic and financial operators (of which 42% are European and 12% American).""Finally, Morocco has launched the legislative process for the ratification of the agreement for the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), which became effective on 7 July, to facilitate the integration between markets in Africa."

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Pikasso on every corporate aspects of this transaction with a team led by partner Alain Malek, head of the Casablanca office, assisted by associate Ismaël Sinaceur.

Antonio Vincenti, Chairman & CEO of Pikasso, said: "I am delighted of the agreement with Greenberry shareholders who have trusted Pikasso to continue the development of the company.We are very proud of the partnership resulting from the exclusive long-term concession agreements signed with the Label'Vie Group, Aradei, Grit Group and the owners of the other malls: FC2B, CMG, and Interavente.

Our commitment to our partners is to deploy all our technical, technological and marketing know-how to enhance all the engagement opportunities with shoppers and visitors of these temples of consumption, leisure and entertainment that have become the malls today. The quality of the contacts and audiences offered being unique.Our ambition is to contribute significantly to the development of the Out of Home (OOH) advertising industry in Morocco, by bringing all the innovations found in the most sophisticated markets to better serve advertisers and media agencies.

Our presence in Casablanca will also enable us to meet the OOH communication needs of the "Moroccan Economic Champions" beyond the Maghreb in their expansion plans in Senegal, Mali and Ivory Coast, where the Pikasso Group is present".